


Fragments of You

by RukaIsAFan



Series: Sheith Prompts and Other Little Dabbles [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Melancholy, Memory Loss, Pain, Post-Series, Recovery, Sad, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 13:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11059518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RukaIsAFan/pseuds/RukaIsAFan
Summary: The aftermath of a Pyrrhic victory leads Shiro to abstain from returning to Earth with the others.They all understood why.





	Fragments of You

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Noratable inspired this.

\--☆--

Whenever things heated up, something big happened from finding out Zarkon was the former Black Paladin to disappearing to... well there's a lot of things. He never knew signing up for the Kerberos mission would lead to this.

Keith was there for him when he returned to Earth, helping him process through his past and then present.

Picked up the slack when he dropped his shoulders. He kissed him on the lips before their last fight. It was sweet and despite being the taller and older one, he felt ever much the ingenue.

It was his turn to be there for Keith.

Shiro had to drag Keith and his lion into the hanger, everyone helped pull him as he mysteriously got quiet. They didn't find out what wrong until 5 minutes of everyone running out of their lions and stations to congratulate their victory on ending a war. Keith wasn't there, they found him motionless on the floor of his cockpit bleeding from the ears.

Some type of psychic shock happened in the last throws and Keith took all of it into him. Nothing could be fixed by cryopod or any alien medicine. Not that they didn't try.

The first few weeks, they pushed him around by a wheelchair while planning on how to rebuild a universe from 10,000 years of domination. There were groups that helped and planets that were discovered, alongside Earth, that joined in to help out, but half the time everyone on the team spent on worrying about Keith, who couldn't do anything.

He couldn't move, possibly couldn't see and hear them as if he was locked in his body. His mind was still active and but that was the only hope they had. Shiro was glad they never lost that hope.

It took five years, but Keith was better. He wasn't all better, but Keith talked -even less than he did-, eat, washes on his own, and even stroll around now. He just couldn't remember who he was or anyone else.

The sunsets on Arus were beautiful and he was glad that he decided to build that swing right outside the Castle of Lions for Keith. Allura and Coran decided that Arus was best, more neutral place for a base of operations. While ships, dignitaries, and the like come and go, it was mostly quiet.

"Keith, supper's going to be in a few minutes." Under the tree, Shiro watched Keith on the swing while pretending to read. The soft wind is the only thing to push the swing while the warm hues illuminate the Red Paladin.

Keith turned to look at him and nod with a smile, before going back to watch the sunset. He wondered if Keith was thinking how much the colors were like the desert.

Sometimes he wished he decided to go to Earth with Keith, but he was perhaps still in trouble with the Garrison and the paperwork to not be declared legally dead would be interesting if it did exist. The attention Shiro and Keith would have for being who they are would make Earth hostile for Keith's mental being, if only because they may have learned by now that Keith is probably the first human-alien to exist.

Pidge and Lance were coming in two weeks. Hunk will be here in two and a half. Lance will once again mourn Keith not having a mullet while Pidge drilled him on any changes to document progress. Hunk will talk to Keith for hours and have him help with fixing some machine or cook. It was a reprieve for them all.

"Do you want me to push you?" Shiro put down his book. Keith nods, "Yes."

Shiro smiled at the faint sound of Keith's voice and got up. He centered himself behind Keith and gently pushed him, smiling as the wind went through Keith's hair.

"When are they coming, again?" Keith spoke up.

"Who?"

"Um... the blue one, the short one, and the yellow one?" Keith flinched.

"Lance, the blue. Pidge is the short one, and Hunk's yellow. Lance and Pidge are here in two weeks while Hunk will be a few days after."

"Do you think they'll be upset again that I don't know their names? I try but after awhile it...." It was a small voice and very aware, "It disappears."

"It still hurts to remember?" Shiro frown. He knows it's a 'yes', there was still lingering effects going on that prevented total recovery.

Keith nodded looking at the golden horizon.

There was silence and Shiro was going to usher Keith in for supper when he spoke up, "It used to hurt a lot when I did anything... I think. Sometimes when I talk I keep thinking I'll feel a shock, but it doesn't hurt."

"I know." Shiro stopped pushing and stopped the swing, combing Keith's hair.

Keith told them before about the pain and when he found out, Shiro spent a night crying over Keith. Never knowing until that his right-hand man, his brother-in-arms, his boyfriend was trained by pain to not functionally exist. He heard Lance swearing in many languages (most of them alien) down the hall. Later, he found Pidge curled herself up in her lion while Hunk was listless. Allura he found out had a minor breakdown in her room while Coran looked at the stars in an effort to not dwell on the tragedy while Keith slept next to him.

Every few days, Keith brings it back up. Repeating the same reluctant elegiac tone in his voice as he explained.

"Oh." Keith looked up at Shiro before glancing to the side. "I guess I did say that."

"Can you walk back or do you want me to carry?" Shiro offered, it was only weeks ago before Keith could move his legs with enough mobility and strength to walk.

"...Why did you stay, Shiro?"

"You know why." Shiro picked up Keith in his arms, despite that Keith was a fully mature adult now he weighed about the same he was past the cusp of adulthood, possibly less. He was a little taller and was slowly rebuilding muscle. One day Keith will be able to spar again.

Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro's neck to support himself as Shiro walked into the castle, "You're the leader of Voltron. Why... do this for me?"

"Keith, you're more of a leader than me." Even if the role of being the Black Paladin meant being the leader, in their team... Keith proved that it wasn't true. That the Lions were flexible and their bonds weren't restricted to just one paladin and one lion. Keith may be the Red Paladin, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a leader.

" _Were_."

"You'll be a leader, again."

"One that can't remember names," Keith huffed being giving Shiro a smile.

The silence grew again and he was certain Keith was trying to focus on remembering where he went, where he was going, and why. He was getting better, Shiro took notes daily and when he felt it was hopeless he looked over and saw that Keith was recovering slowly. Last week Keith remembered he was told he was from Earth and asked about Klyzap, who visited monthly.

Maybe one day Shiro will answer Keith's question about why he stayed. There was that fear of Keith feeling guilty about it since he felt guilty about being taken care of in the first place. To find out that your former boyfriend is taking care of you because he loved you and still loves you isn't something Keith, memories or not, would have taken lightly.

"Oh. It's dinner time." Keith whispered to himself.

\--☆--

**Author's Note:**

> This might end up getting expanded but have been completed as a dabble for months. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. Comments, Kudos, Bookmarks, are always very much appreciated. 
> 
> My twitter is: [RukaIsAFan](http://www.twitter.com/RukaIsAFan).  
> I'm mostly talkative there.  
> My tumblr is: [RukaIsAFan](http://RukaIsAFan.tumblr.com) too in case you want to talk to me.


End file.
